Isolation and partial characterization of antimicrobial compounds from a new strain Nonomuraea sp. NM94

An actinomycete strain NM94 was isolated from a Saharan soil sample by a dilution agar plating method using chitin-vitamins B medium supplemented with penicillin. The strain presented the morphological and chemical characteristics of the genus Nonomuraea. On the basis of 16S rDNA analysis and physiological tests, this isolate was found to be quite different from the known species of Nonomuraea and might be new. The strain NM94 secreted several antibiotics on yeast extract malt extract glucose medium that were active against some Gram-positive bacteria, yeast, and fungi. The antibiotics were extracted with dichloromethane and detected by bioautography on silica gel plates using Mucor ramannianus and Bacillus subtilis as the test organisms. Among these antibiotics, a complex called 94A showed interesting antifungal activity. It was selected and purified by reverse-phase HPLC. This complex was composed of five compounds. Spectroscopic studies by infrared, mass, and (1)H NMR of the compounds were carried out. Initial results showed that these molecules differed from the known antibiotics produced by other Nonomuraea species.